McIver's Caterpillar

Olivia's school has a butterfly bush (milkweed) with tons of caterpillars just munching away. McIver and I chose 2 (one big, one little) to bring home. (We later found out that we were not supposed to be taking them, but ignorance is/was bliss.) McIver has never been more proud of anything in his four years of life (except maybe his goose-bite). He carried them around for 2 days showing anyone who made eye contact with him (and even those who didn't - like the nursery worker at church who was in the bathroom stall when he started talking to her). After 2 days, I noticed that the caterpillars were not looking too hot, so I purchased 2 butterfly bushes to plant in our backyard near some lantana which has grown enormously since last year. We have seen lots of butterflies around the lantana so we're hoping that they will be drawn to the new bushes.

Unfortunately, the smaller of the 2 caterpillars blew away when McIver tried to transfer him/her to the bush. I'm glad to report that McIver did not 'lose it' when that happened - he recovered quite well. The larger of the 2 made the move just fine. Now, though, 5 days later, we can't find him anymore so we're assuming he built his crysalis and will soon be fluttering about.

Here is McIver with the caterpillar who survived the move back to a natural habitat.

Update: We still can't find the original caterpillar, but there is a new teeny-tiny caterpillar on one of the bushes. I'll keep you posted.